Estate and Tax Planning – Estate and Trust Administration

Kostelanetz attorneys design estate plans that minimize income, estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes, and which also address other financial and personal objectives, such as asset protection, business succession, charitable giving, pre-immigration planning and caring for disabled family members. Our attorneys draft highly individualized wills and trusts and are proud of the ways in which they tailor their advice to a client’s unique personal needs.

The firm’s estate and tax planning practice assists U.S. clients in establishing structures for investment abroad, and similarly assists non-U.S. clients in establishing structures for investment in the U.S., that are designed to optimize their income, estate, and gift tax positions. In addition, Kostelanetz attorneys work closely with clients’ financial planners, wealth managers, and accountants to ensure a coordinated approach to clients’ estate and tax planning goals.

The firm also provides a full range of services to fiduciaries and beneficiaries in connection with the administration of substantial and complex estates and trusts. We use state-of-the-art computer programs to prepare estate and gift tax returns with the objective of reducing the risk of disputes with the Internal Revenue Service. Tax planning does not end at death, of course, and Kostelanetz attorneys provide advice on postmortem estate tax planning, income tax minimization, and the valuation of closely held business interests and other assets whose value is not easily established. The firm also frequently provides advice on the proper administration of estates involving substantial overseas or hidden assets that surface after death. And Kostelanetz attorneys advise corporate and individual trustees on a range of issues that arise upon the establishment of trusts, during their administration, and at their termination.